XN000022-1993-07-12 — Page 10

MONDAY, JULY 12, 1993

MR FUNG SAID THE STRUCTURAL CHANGES ΤΟ HONG KONG'S ECONOMY, TOGETHER WITH THE EXPANSION OF HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIES INTO SOUTHERN CHINA, WERE MAKING POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS ΤΟ HONG KONG'S ECONOMY GENERALLY AND TO ITS MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN PARTICULAR.

HE SAID THE REDUCTION IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES' SHARE IN HONG KONG'S GDP WAS BALANCED BY RAPID ADVANCES IN OTHER SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY, SUCH AS TRADING, TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS, AND ONE OF THE MAIN IMPETUS FOR THE ADVANCES IN THESE OTHER SECTORS WAS THE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR MUCH ENLARGED PRODUCTION BASE IN SOUTHERN CHINA.

"EVEN IN THE LOCAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR ALONE, IN REAL TERMS INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT IN HONG KONG INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY AT AN AVERAGE ANNUAL RATE OF ABOUT 7.8 PER CENT IN ALMOST THE WHOLE OF THE 1980s AND HAS REMAINED STABLE ONLY SINCE 1989.

"THIS MEANS THAT, IN SPITE OF THE CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE OF OUR ECONOMY, HONG KONG STILL HAS A SUBSTANTIAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR WHICH IS TODAY PRODUCING, IN REAL TERMS, 8.6 PER CENT MORE THAN IT DID SIX YEARS AGO.

INDUSTRIAL

"MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE RESTRUCTURING OF HONG KONG'S BASE IN THIS WAY HAS RELEASED LABOUR IN HONG KONG FOR OTHER EXPANDING SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY AND HAS ENABLED THE INDUSTRIES THAT REMAIN IN HONG KONG TO CONCENTRATE ON HIGHER-VALUE ADDED, HIGHER-QUALITY PRODUCTS," HE SAID.

MR FUNG ADDED THAT PRODUCTIVITY PER PERSON ENGAGED

LARGELY THE RESULT OF GREATER AUTOMATION, MORE EFFICIENT PRODUCTION PROCESSES, AND A CONCENTRATION ON HIGHER-VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS HAD GROWN AT AN IMPRESSIVE RATE.

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"IN REAL TERMS, PRODUCTIVITY PER PERSON HAS INCREASED BY AN AVERAGE 11.1 PER CENT PER ANNUM BETWEEN 1986 AND 1992.

"THIS FIGURE COMPARES FAVOURABLY WITH THE EQUIVALENT RATES FOR DEVELOPED INDUSTRIAL ECONOMIES AND FOR NEWLY INDUSTRIALISED ECONOMIES IN THE REGION," HE SAID.

MR FUNG ALSO OUTLINED THE RANGE OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING INVESTING IN HUMAN RESOURCES, PROVIDING LAND FOR HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIES AND BRINGING IN NEW TECHNOLOGY THROUGH PROMOTING INWARD INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING SECTOR.

MR FUNG SAID HONG KONG WOULD NOT CLAIM TO BE IN THE VANGUARD OF TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT: THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES DEVOTED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WOULD NEVER MATCH THOSE IN JAPAN, THE UNITED STATES OR EVEN THE OTHER "LITTLE DRAGONS" IN ASIA.

"BUT WE DO NOT HAVE AN

CHOSEN A DIFFERENT PATH.

INFERIORITY COMPLEX: WE HAVE MERELY

"OUR POLICY OF SUPPORTING BUT NOT SUBSIDISING; OF ENCOURAGING BUT NOT INTERVENING; OF PROMOTING BUT NOT PROTECTING; AND OF RESPECTING MARKET FORCES BUT NOT OBSESSING IN STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS, BAS SERVED HONG KONG WELL AND WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF CHANGING IT HE SAID.

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